Minority leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has pushed back against demands for reparations linked to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, arguing that accountability should not be attributed exclusively to foreign parties.

He noted that certain local actors were also involved in the capture and sale of fellow Africans, insisting that this aspect of history must be considered in ongoing conversations about compensation.

Contributing to discussions on the floor of Parliament on Friday, March 27, the Effutu MP said the complex nature of the slave trade makes calls for reparatory justice more difficult to resolve, even though he strongly denounced the inhumane treatment suffered by victims.

However, the Majority Leader and Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga, took a different position, defending calls for compensation.

He argued that the wealth of many developed nations can be traced to the exploitation of enslaved people, particularly through plantation economies.

“When somebody berths a vessel at Cape Coast and you decide to go to the North, Bono area, get to the Ashanti area, to the Assin area and you are chasing the strongest among your own people, then after 100 years you say, ‘I should be compensated’. Who should compensate who? We maltreated our own and told the white man that he should also maltreat our own. The story must be told and must be put in its proper context.

“It is also a fact that the inhumane treatment, the unfortunate humiliation, the marginalisation, injustice and abuse of our ancestors who became victims of this slave trade must be condemned,” he said.

“Many of those countries that have wealth can trace their wealth to slavery. Many of the capitalist countries that have become rich started from plantations that were worked on by slaves. It is the labour of these slaves that helped them to build capital which later on added to technology and other considerations led to the wealth those nations are enjoying now. As a result, there is the need to share that wealth in recognition of those who have been the foundation of the creation of that wealth,” he said.